On the afternoon of May 11, Beijing released the "China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone, National Comprehensive Demonstration Zone for Expanding Opening-up of Services Data Export Management List (Negative List) (2025 Edition)" and supporting management measures. This marks the first nationwide initiative to expand the data export negative list management mechanism from a pilot free trade zone to the entire provincial administrative region, and from 5 industry sectors to 9.
Wang Fei, Deputy Director of the Beijing Cyberspace Administration, stated at a press conference that this move signifies a systematic leap in Beijing's data cross-border flow facilitation reform, transitioning from "pilot exploration" to "comprehensive governance."
The "Two Zones" negative list policy in Beijing follows a "1+9" institutional design: one set of "Two Zones" management measures and nine sector-specific negative lists. This framework establishes a data export negative list management system applicable to the entire city in one go.
Regarding the applicable area, the scope of the "Two Zones" negative list will be expanded from the pilot free trade zone to the National Comprehensive Demonstration Zone for Expanding Opening-up of Services (i.e., the entire Beijing municipality), thereby extending the coverage of advantageous policies to benefit all enterprises citywide.
In terms of coverage, the "Two Zones" negative list encompasses 9 industry sectors, 67 business scenarios, and 612 data fields. It primarily consists of two categories: First, the initial free trade zone negative list, which has been directly converted into the "Two Zones" list, covering 5 sectors including automotive, pharmaceuticals, civil aviation, retail, and artificial intelligence. Second, the newly compiled "Two Zones" negative list, which, focusing on Beijing's key industrial development directions such as biomedicine, high-level autonomous driving, the dual-airport international logistics hub, and international financial services, has newly compiled negative lists for 4 sectors: medical devices, autonomous driving (intelligent connected vehicles), trade logistics, and banking.
Simultaneously, in accordance with the national principle of "innovation in one location, application in multiple locations," Beijing has established a mechanism for applying negative lists from other provinces and cities. For negative lists from other regions that Beijing-based enterprises subsequently have a genuine need to use, they will be dynamically incorporated into Beijing's negative list system after undergoing assessment and filing procedures. Moving forward, the coverage of the list will be continuously enriched and expanded according to a dynamic management mechanism, with batches being released as they mature.
It is understood that in March of this year, Beijing released the "Implementation Plan for Further Deepening the Comprehensive Supporting Reform of Facilitating Data Cross-Border Flow" (i.e., the Data Cross-Border 3.0 Plan). With "comprehensive application" as the core objective, the plan proposes 27 innovative policy measures across six key areas: policy environment, industry application, integrated services, technological support, ecosystem building, and risk prevention and control. It aims to place greater emphasis on application in enterprise services and continuously foster a transparent, stable, and predictable institutional environment.
Wang Fei stated that since the release of the 3.0 Plan, it has garnered widespread attention from enterprises. Currently, benchmark applications of "one industry, one policy" in key sectors such as healthcare, artificial intelligence, and intelligent connected vehicles are steadily progressing. Characteristic highlands with "one district, one brand," such as the International Pharmaceutical Innovation Park, the Digital Economy Enterprise Overseas Expansion Innovation Service Base, and the International Data Hub Port, are accelerating their development. International data operations of companies like Dassault Systèmes, RELX, and Siemens are being implemented orderly, achieving positive social and market reception.
In response to the practical increase in policy users and the extension of the management chain following the policy upgrade and expansion, and to improve the negative list management system while iteratively optimizing government service measures, Beijing has revised the free trade zone negative list management measures into the "Two Zones" management measures.
It is reported that the new version of the management measures includes various institutional optimizations. The management system has been further refined, establishing a city-district two-level management system with clear lead departments and division of responsibilities. The application and approval process has been further simplified, retaining only the "one form" and "one letter" (i.e., the "Usage Application Form" and the "Enterprise Commitment Letter") based on the principle of minimal necessity, while all other application materials have been eliminated. Security supervision has been optimized, shifting risk prevention and control from "general inspection and census" to "targeted and efficient," adhering to categorized strategies, building a cross-sector risk assessment and joint management and control mechanism, and improving a "credit + risk" hierarchical and classified precise supervision system.
"Through enterprise research and analysis, new characteristics and demands are emerging in current data cross-border flows," Wang Fei said. Beijing will fully leverage the city-wide special coordination mechanism for data cross-border flow facilitation reform to coordinate and promote the efficient implementation of the Data Cross-Border 3.0 Plan and the negative list package of policies.
According to reports, Beijing will upgrade the "one-stop" service centers. Stations of the Beijing Data Cross-Border Service Center in Chaoyang, Haidian, Daxing, and Yizhuang will leverage their regional advantages to form distinctive functional positioning and regional radiation driving capabilities. "Integrated" online and offline guidance will be strengthened by upgrading the "one-stop online service" public service platform for data cross-border flow and compiling an implementation guide for the "Two Zones" data export negative list to improve the coverage and reach of policy measures. Professional support for "one scenario, one solution" will be deepened, relying on Beijing's policy innovation and enterprise service task force, the cross-central-local, cross-industry data cross-border facilitation reform expert group, and four talent pools covering law, data security, key industries, and IT technology to provide enterprises with full-chain compliance assurance and systematic solutions. "Full-chain" market services will be improved by leveraging market forces such as Beijing International Data Cross-Border Service Co., Ltd., the Beijing International Big Data Exchange, and member enterprises of the Beijing Data Cross-Border Compliance Service Industry Alliance to provide enterprises with end-to-end compliance services covering data acquisition, processing, transmission, and trading.
Currently, Beijing's Data Cross-Border 3.0 Plan, the "Two Zones" negative list covering 9 sectors and its supporting management measures, and the new service guide have been officially launched on platforms such as "网信北京" and "开放北京," where enterprises can browse and download them online.
Wang Fei stated that subsequent steps will involve strengthening dynamic assessment and optimization adjustments of the list's implementation effectiveness based on enterprise feedback, continuously upgrading the data export policy system, management system, and service system, and providing better service guarantees for enterprises rooted in and committed to Beijing through an improved business environment and more substantive reform measures.